Due to the earlier site access problems, manehi sent me a copy of his analysis but without a preamble. As I have been too busy getting the site back on-line to do this puzzle I am unable to comment myself. Gaufrid
| Across | |||
| 1 | EXAMPLE | EX=formerly + AMPLE=stout | |
| 5 | SIDEARM | (Admires)* | |
| 9 | LANYARD | rev(RAY=skate) inside LAND=dock | |
| 10 | INCOMER | INCOME=proceeds + R[ight] | |
| 11 | PARSONAGE | PAGE=servant around ARSON=crime | |
| 12 | CARET | CARE=concern + T | |
| 13 | EVENS | =Quits. EVENtS=competitions losing t[ime] | |
| 15 | INSTALLED | INST[ante] mense=”This month” in Latin, + ALL=every + ED[ition] | |
| 17 | LETHARGIC | (the garlic)* | |
| 19 | RASPS | double def, an old word for raspberries. | |
| 22 | THINE | THIN=feeble + E=Echo in the phonetic alphabet | |
| 23 | TRENCHANT | TRENCH=ditch + ANT=worker | |
| 25 | TROT OUT | ROT=nonsense inside TOUT=solicitor | |
| 26 | INITIAL | double def, “Endorse” and “letter of introduction” | |
| 27 | SWIFTER | (few stir)* | |
| 28 | NEITHER | I[njections] inside NETHER | |
| Down | |||
| 1 | ECLIPSE | =decline? E[astern]=Oriental + CLIPS=cuts + E[arl] | |
| 2 | AINTREE | (trainee)* | |
| 3 | PIANO | IAN in PO | |
| 4 | ENDEARING | ENDING=finale around EAR=attention | |
| 5 | SPIKE | S[mall] + PIKE | |
| 6 | DECK CHAIR | DECK=dress (e.g. deck the halls) + C[aught] (cricket scorecard abbreviation) + HAIR=bristle | |
| 7 | ADMIRAL | ADMIR[e] + A L[earner] | |
| 8 | MERITED | MD=doctor around E[nglish] + RITE | |
| 14 | SCAPEGOAT | S[on] + CAPE=head + GOAT=assault | |
| 16 | SECRETION | R[oyal] E[ngineer] in SECTION=division | |
| 17 | LITOTES | Understatement for rhetorical effect. LIES around TOT | |
| 18 | TRIPOLI | TRIP + (oil)* | |
| 20 | SLAVISH | S[on] + LAVISH | |
| 21 | SETTLER | SETTER=gundog around L[eft] hand | |
| 23 | TUTOR | hidden in TimbukTU TORturer | |
| 24 | CHILI | sounds like Chile |
This must be the easiest Cryptic for ages! Far too many setters’ cliches and old chestnuts – 2, 3, 5, 24 etc. I suppose 26 and 28 were slightly better, but generally I found this deeply disappointing
Many thanks Manehi and Gaufrid.
Recognising that I have now become so adept at solving The Grauniad Cryptics, I am eagerly awaiting tomorrow’s Prize when I intend to beat Rightback’s completion times.
My Target: 1½ Minutes!
I think I commented earlier this week that the puzzle wasn’t the best, wasn’t the worst, and I’ll echo that today. There were some decent clues, but ‘decline’ doesn’t really mean ECLIPSE and clueing ADMIRAL as ‘in the navy’ isn’t brilliant either, imho.
Hi Kathryn’s Dad
I think your comment on ADMIRAL is a pretty good example of 17dn. 🙂
It’s even worse than the fairly recent Chifonie clue for STAVANGER: ‘Old actor keeps transport in Norway’.
Thanks for your efforts to
solve the problems and get this posted, Gaufrid, and to Manehi for his evidently hasty, but complete blog.
I was surprised to find such a simple cryptic on a Friday, but after the week we’ve had, it was something of a relief to be able to glide through it.
Chambers gives as a figurative def. of ‘eclipse’, “loss of brilliancy; darkness, loss of fame or importance”, which could be equivalent to ‘decline’. Personally, I had no objection to the clue.
This puzzle was straightforward, but fair.
Thanks Manehi and Gaufrid for getting things back on-line. Because of my excellent time on this puzzle and to compete with Bryan, I have a targeted time of 1.5 minutes to read the prize puzzle clues.
Cheers…
Thanks Guafrid, manehi and Chifonie
Good to be back on line and lose withdrawal symptoms!!
Pretty straightforward. The best clues for me were 13ac (nice use of quits), 6d, 14d.
Eclipse seemed just about OK – if one thinks of it as a gradual process which it tends to be.
Not too many seem inspired to comment huh? Oh well, same as above I guess. New meaning for GOAT for me, but I suppose the disinformation books will have it somewhere.
I read it as ” Go at” not goat
I finished this at rightback speed as well. Fairly mundane fare. But 14dn GO AT was original, at least for me. Hoping for something more substantial tomorrow.
Thanks manehi and Gaufrid for getting us up and running again. I would really like to see CHILI/CHILE and AINTREE put out to pasture. Chifonie seems to use single-letter abbreviations a lot — two E’s in 1dn, S for son in 14dn and again in 20dn.
I’ll just be happy if my internet connection loads the prize crossword page in under 1.5 minutes tomorrow.
After two excellent heavyweight crosswords on unexpected days of the week (Boatman, Araucaria [surely nót Lite :)], this was indeed easy-peasy.
Still a pleasant stroll, mostly fair (well, “in the navy”?) but undemanding.
And Chifonie as Chifonie can be.
His puzzles always [yes, álways] contain only anagrams, A inside B, charades (A+B) and dd’s – and this one was no exception.
Even if one thinks this isn’t a challenging style, it ís his style [either as Chifonie or as Armonie in the FT].
And to be fair to Chifonie, I think it is not even that easy to fill a crossword grid with words that only make use of these limited devices. But maybe others have a different view on that.
Every now and then Rufus is absent on his allocated (Mon)day.
Then others take his place [like even Brendan] – perhaps Mr Stephenson should consider to choose Chifonie for those Monday spots. Would be apt, I think.
And dear Chifonie, that’s not a kind of degradation, but just the right person at the right place.
Best clue? I think 1d (ECLIPSE), even though the definition’s not appreciated by everyone. I liked the word ‘cuts’ being used as part of the charade, where it normally is a device.
As in so many other areas, it’s only when things go wrong that we even begin to realise what’s involved in making them usually run so smoothly. I have no idea what’s involved in maintaining an excellent site like this – except that I know it’s a lot! This is an opportunity to thank Gaufrid, not only for restoring our communication today but also for his excellent administration of the site on a day-to-day basis.
And thanks to Manehi, too, for the blog: it must have been very frustrating waiting to post! 🙂
Hmmm. Re 14. There’s no space in the blog, and having got the answer by gadgetry and guesswork, I was taking the blog literally. It makes sense with a space. Ta.
What the hell happened yesterday? I thought the world was going to end. First the Grauniad published a Bonxie which had all the ingredients of a Dejavu. The damn thing had first been published a couple of weeks ago and I recalled struggling with it then, but instead of realizing the Grauniad had blobbed and published the wrong puzzle, I thought this was some clever Bonxie trick. So, would you believe, I solved the damn thing twice!!
Then the site crashed so I couldn`t glean any any sense about what was happening from that. Then, during my afternoon nap, I dreamt Tupu, Auntie Eileen, Sil, Uncle Yap et al had all been swallowed up into hyperspace….and I had been abandoned on a planet full of Bonxie crosswords. Gave me quite a turn, I can tell you.
I`m not tempting fate by slagging off the Chifonie effort today. OK, it might have heralded a world back to normal…..but RASPS..? Come on!!
Well, Carrots, here a message from Hyperspace :).
RASPS is really in Chambers [as an informal or Scottish word for ‘raspberries’] – though perhaps nobody talks about rasps, I guess?
Thanks for your help Sil…as you might recall, I try to do my crossword-solving without reference to dictionaries etc. This does lead me into putting my foot in it sometimes and I`m sure I have more than one wax doll skewered with needles among the fifteen-squared heavyweights.
I know its unsporting to mention the current Saturday prize puzzle (so I won`t) but pilots are not renowned for their rapier-like wit and Biggles is no exception. I spent the afternoon wondering when the tedium would end (I`ve still got three to go). A bit like the slog over Siberia, gambling about shooting stars to stay awake.
Thank you Chifonie manehi and Gaufrid. I liked this one because I could solve it. Not quickly but in reasonable time. Nothing wrong with single letter components (comment #11) – I am sure this objection could be levelled at many other setters. There was one recently (on a Friday) which was very bitty in this sort of way but I can’t remember which – nobody objected then. Comment #13 seems fair. Overall very nice. Thanks.
And ALL the surfaces were articulate – well done.